It has been four long years since Doves released the organically experimental Brit-pop sound of their last album, Some Cities. The question “What exactly have they been up to?†was emphatically answered in front of a sold-out crowd at San Francisco’s venerable Fillmore Auditorium on May 18th. Maintaining the confident and consistent hollow-body sound, the new album allows them to stretch out in ways that old fans will still find comfortable. Bringing with them a bigger, more brash sound, Doves Jimi Goodwin, guitarist Jez Williams, drummer Andy Williams and Martin Rebelski on keys, began their live set just as they do on their new album Kingdom of Rust, with “Jetstreamâ€. While KOR doesn’t seem to have the stand-out “Black and White Townâ€, it still maintains the urban soundscapes that are rarely done this well.
Live performances of old and new included the smooth “Winter Hillâ€, the lighter/cell phone-conjuring “10:03â€, Blondie vibe “Compulsion†and the “The Greatest Denier†with its darkly grandiose lyrics: “The English skyline falls down to the future. But no one noticed in this empire.†The band then tore through the driving piano of “White and Black Town†and the muscular “The Outsiders†before returning for a much-appreciated four-song encore. The show was filled with tight, understated harmonies, shimmering guitar riffs and the occasional fuzzed out bass which would make even fellow Mancunian Peter Hook proud. Only missing from the set list in my mind was “House of Mirrors†which seems ready-made for an energetic live performance.
Comparisons to Radiohead, Coldplay and Elbow are inevitable but still there is something more humble, unpretentious and authentic about Doves and the music they deliver. In some ways, I was reminded more of Bob Mould and the way he can make such refined music seem so very simple and likeable. Even Jimi’s snarling, between-song banter is delivered with a charismatic smirk that makes you want to buy him a Boddingtons. In any case, it seems those four years were well spent.
Set List:
Jetstream
Snowden
Winter Hill
Rise
Pounding
Almost Forgot Myself
10:03
Compulsion
Words
The Greatest Denier
Kingdom Of Rust
Ambition
Black And White Town
The Outsiders
Caught By The River
//
Firesuit
Here It Comes
The Last Broadcast
There Goes The Fear
